The 2005 national meet (minicamp), organized by the Free State Section, took
place from 27 March to 2 April in the Wartrail / Lundin’s Neck area, in
a remote part of the North Eastern Cape highlands, with Barkly East being the
nearest town. The base camp was next to a tranquil mountain stream on the farm
Reedsdell, with quite a number of trees providing shade. From here a variety
of hiking trips were organized through the Witteberg and Drakensberg valleys,
spurs and high-lying areas, including to the Tiffendell Ski Resort near Ben
MacDhui.
There was quite a good interest in the camp and 64 entries from all over the country were received, also quite a few from the Western Cape. In the end 58 enthusiastic Mountain Club people turned up and the camp started on the Sunday evening with a braai at the Reedsdell farmhouse.
From the Monday to the Saturday a variety of hiking trips were led by six leaders, from day walks to 4-day trips, varying in difficulty from easy to quite strenuous. Most of the camp attendees preferred the shorter, easier hikes, while the group sizes for the longer and more difficult hikes were generally less than 10.
The weather was quite good, with only a few showers here and there during the week, while the temperatures were mild to cool. And in the base camp you could sit around a nice campfire every night.
The attendees found the hiking trips and the camp in general to be very enjoyable and the organizers and leaders received good feedback and compliments. Louis Fourie, as the camp commander, handled the day-to-day organization competently and in his own unique and humoristic style. Besides Louis, the leaders of the different hikes were Nico Combrink, Deon du Plessis, Derek Odendaal, Dup du Preez en Izak Fourie.
The camp ended on the Saturday night with a very nice braai at the Wartrail Sports Club, and was also attended by most of the landowners over whose farms we walked during the week.
In general it was a very successful camp in a landscape that was made for hiking and that offers a wonderful variety of natural features and beauty.
Derek Odendaal
Organiser